YouSaid · the spoken record

MALMIERCA PEOLI

lines on the record: 349
first: 1977-09-24
most recent: 1991-09-24
sittings or episodes: 7
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Today the situation is much more serious than it was then. Imperialism's aggressive, expansionist and exploitative posture has worsened. The recent events in Lebanon, the conflict in the South Atlantic and continual threats of aggression and armed intervention in the Caribbean have been dangerously added to the use of economic pressures as a weapon of political coercion against the underdeveloped countries that aspire to an independent, honorable life and seek the path of development.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“What peace can there be when the people are hungry and have no pillow to lessen the weariness of their despair? What peace can there be when their children are hungry, and there is no light in their eyes and no future before them? The countries belonging to the non aligned movement and all the other underdeveloped countries have constantly urged that the preservation of peace and the pursuit of development should be aims to be sought simultaneously. We recall that the 1979 Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 77 in Arusha, in the United Republic of Tanzania, stated its conviction that real peace was not merely the absence of war but should also establish the conditions for political freedom, sustained and accelerated development for the developing countries and the promotion of the methodical development of the world.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Therefore the struggle for peace is no mere slogan of enlightened forums or Sunday clubs; it is a pressing necessity for the survival of all mankind. We mean by that a peace that is equal for all, in whatever part of the globe they may be. We are constantly striving for those aims, and guided by those criteria. Cuba has made the struggle for peace a fundamental part of its Constitution, and the struggle to preserve peace, to contribute to easing the hotbeds of tension and to prevent the worsening of the international situation is one of the main elements of our international action. The preservation of peace and the struggle for development are component elements of a single ideal, for what peace can there be without development?”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“The insistence on dealing from positions of strength, from positions of military superiority, is leading the present Republican Administration in the United States to plan increases in its military budget for l983 that come to the astronomical sum of more than $260 billion. By 1986 military spending will exceed $372 billion, or 35.2 per cent of the total United States budget. This harmful trend of the United States Government towards increasing its military spending at an explosive rate will for other States to increase their budgets for the defense of their territories. 154. The world is sitting on a powder keg, without any guarantees of security, and the danger increases when the means for exploding it are in irresponsible hands, as unscrupulous as those that led the world of the conflagration of the 1940s.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“The efforts and actions that various agencies and the international community are carrying out with regard to the peoples' legitimate demand for a stable, lasting peace cannot be consolidated if we do not devote ourselves seriously and frankly to the constitution and practice of a new system of international relations whose main aspect is the implementation of a fair and equitable new international economic order that does away with the abysmal differences between the poor and the rich countries. This is not a question of alms or privileges; we demand the help of the developed countries so that, by combining our efforts, we may eliminate the differences that separate us. 133.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“The United States continues to increase its presence in the Indian Ocean and to enlarge its military installations in the area, as is the case with the Diego Garcia base, and to block the holding of a conference for making the Indian Ocean a zone of peace. This policy is detrimental to security in the region and exacerbates tensions by constituting a threat to the Governments that are striving to lend their national interests. We support the Cypriot people's sustained efforts to preserve its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity in a united and non aligned republic.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“My delegation reiterates its support for the legitimate aspiration of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to bring about the peaceful reunification of its homeland for which it is absolutely necessary that interference in its internal affairs should cease and that the United States forces of intervention withdraw from the southern part of the Korean peninsula. We support the Sahraoui Arab Democratic Republic in its legitimate rights to live in peace and take its rightful place among independent States. We support the aspirations of the Comoros to regain their sovereignty over Mayotte, the restitution of Madagascar's rights over the Malagasy Islands of Gloheuses, Juande Nova, Europa and Bassas da India, and the just claim of Mauritius to recover Diego Garcia island.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“The Sixth Conference of Indo Chinese Foreign Ministers was held in July this year; it announced that a summit meeting of those three countries would be held in December and that the withdrawal of a number of Vietnamese troops from the territory of the People's Republic of Kampuchea had been initiated in late July. This shows the three countries' good will in trying to ease the tension in the region through political means. A climate of understanding, mutual respect and security must prevail in South East Asia, and the efforts to begin a constructive dialogue between the parties in conflict should continue.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Cuba supports the aspirations and desires of the Panamanian Government and people in their struggle for implementation of the Canal agreements. We support the right of Bolivia in its historical and just claim to recover its outlet to the sea. Cuba's position is well known on the subject of the negotiated settlement of disputes. We hope that, in the spirit of the necessary strengthening of the relations among the peoples of our continent, the differences over the border limits between Guyana and Venezuela will be settled peacefully, by means of mutually accepted formulas. Cuba supports the independence, territorial integrity and non alignment of Belize. We must also struggle to guarantee peace and stability in South East Asia.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Nothing can keep the peoples from travelling the destined path of their history; like it or not, one day the free Latin American people of Puerto Rico will themselves sing the beloved anthem of their homeland and they themselves will raise their flag with the lone star, free of hypocritical trusteeships and master of their destiny. There will remain in our continent tyrannies that every day spill blood on the road that will lead these peoples to the freedom to which they are and for which they are waging an exemplary fight. We reiterate our firm solidarity with heroic Grenada, which, with unparalleled efforts, is laying the foundations for a new exemplary resistance against the imperialists' attempts to destabilize its economy, subvert domestic interest and frustrate the revolutionary process rooted in that Caribbean island.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Now, a new awakening of Latin American awareness is the order of the day; a deepening of anti imperialist feeling is spreading through our continent; the peoples are learning daily from history in the making, from the blows they receive and from the experience they acquire; and no propaganda, however sophisticated or subtle, can change or twist the historical positions taken on the facts relating to the Malvinas. Cuba also reiterates its unswerving support for the legitimate struggle that the fraternal people of Puerto Rico are waging to attain full independence and sovereignty.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Hard, concrete, stubborn facts have convincingly shown who is who in our continent. When forced to show its true colors the United States, the self appointed arch defender of Latin America and dedicated architect of the Rio Treaty and of the myth of hemispheric unity against dark extra continental forces, dropped its so called pan American vocation and shamelessly joined forces with England to fall, as Marti would say, with so much greater force on our Latin American lands. At the moment of truth, the institutions built on hypocrisy went down in the Atlantic without the dignity of the crew members of the General.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“President Fidel Castro pointed out in the letter he sent to Jose Lopez Portillo, President of Mexico, in February this year that: If the Government of the United States the source of all the problems which affect Latin America and the Caribbean today pledges not to attack its neighbors, if it ceases its constant threats, if it stops using its weapons and finances to back genocidal regimes and if it puts an end to its subversive activities, all these being acts which have absolutely no legitimacy, Cuba is willing to co operate in the noble efforts you outlined in Managua to bring about the atmosphere of peace, mutual respect and necessary change in the region, to which we also aspire. Cuba today reiterates its full support for Argentine sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“If the United States intervenes militarily in El Salvador or Nicaragua, it would lead to the appearance of a new Viet Nam in Central America, because the peoples of Farabundo Marti and Augusto Cesar Sandino will defend their national independence and their right to be Ate until they defeat their enemies.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“The United States Government is engaged in using the armed forces of Honduras as a spearhead against Nicaragua and the Salvadorian patriots, with the aim of legalizing a probable direct intervention by United States forces. The entry of Honduran army personnel into El Salvador and of former Somoza supporters into Nicaragua from camps in Honduras unquestionably means dangerous and definitive steps towards the spreading of armed conflict throughout the Central American region Thus far the Reagan Administration has not contributed to the moves directed to apolitical solution to the tensions in the region. A few days ago, President Lopez Portillo of Mexico and President Herrera Campinas of Venezuela made new proposals which Cuba hopes will produce positive results.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“It is precisely this state of permanent inequality that is the main cause of the social revolt that is shaking Central America today. Blinded by stupidity and lack of realism, Mr. Reagan's Administration has rejected dialogue and a negotiated political solution in this explosive area and is preparing the conditions for an armed intervention that would prevent a revolutionary triumph in El Salvador and drown the Nicaraguan revolution in blood. Such is the spirit of the Symons Amendment, passed recently by the United States Senate, preparing public opinion for the United States President's use of all means, including the use of troops, to oppose an alleged Cuban threat in Latin America.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“We endorse the decisions to support the ANC adopted by the heads of State at the frontline States at their Maputo meeting in March this year. In Latin America, after nearly a century of imperialist domination, the situation could not be more hopeless for tens of millions of human beings subjected to the most dreadful poverty. Compulsory witnesses of the profits of the local oligarchies and of the transnational corporations, the peoples of Latin America will be carrying on their shoulders a foreign debt which, by the end of this year, will reach the astronomical figure of $300 billion, without counting the $30 billion they will have to pay annually in interest. The indices that measure the living standards of the popular sectors in the vast majority of the countries in our region are falling alarmingly without any restraint.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“In view of the evident closing of options for negotiation, SWAPO, the sole and legitimate representative of the Namibian people, has the right to continue the armed struggle to achieve Namibia's independence, with full respect for its territorial integrity, including Walvis Bay, and without the presence of South African troops on its soil. The struggle of the African peoples will inexorably bring to an end the vestiges of colonialism and racism on that continent. The Pretoria regime knows that historically it is doomed. The growing rebelliousness of the black South African masses, led by the African National Congress, shows that the exploited majority is advancing inexorably towards the liquidation of the power of the exploiting white minority.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“We can consequently reaffirm here, in the General Assembly that when the Governments of Angola and Cuba so determine, the withdrawal of the Cuban forces stationed on Angolan territory will be effected by virtue of the sovereign decision of the Government of the People's Republic of Angola once all or any possibility of an attack by an armed invading force has disappeared. In this regard, the Government of Cuba reiterates that it will unhesitatingly respect any decision that the sovereign Government of Angola makes concerning the withdrawal of those forces.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“They also pointed out that if the selfless struggle waged by SWAPO, the sole legitimate representative of the Namibian people, and the demands of the international community succeeded in bringing about a real solution to the problem of Namibia, based on strict compliance with Security Council resolution 435 (1978), and it resulted in truly independent rule and to the total withdrawal of the South African occupation troops to the other side of the Orange River, which would considerably reduce the danger of aggression against Angola, then the Angolan and Cuban Governments would consider the renewal of the implementation of the programme for the gradual withdrawal of the Cuban force within a period of time determined by the two Governments.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Cuba and Angola stated in February this year that Cuban military co operation with Angola constituted an absolutely sovereign and legitimate act by the two countries and as a result was completely unrelated to the problem of Namibia.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Now, when the racist troops of the Pretoria regime have been occupying a part of the territory of southern Angola for more than a year and are threatening to invade other provinces, the United States Government seeks to present a demand that the Cuban forces should withdrawn from Angola as a condition, a prerequisite, for the withdrawal of South African troops from Namibia, as something that would contribute to Namibia's independence. That is why the front line States, at their recent meeting in Lusaka, resolved categorically to reject any attempt to tie the Cuban presence in Angola to the process of decolonization in Namibia, reaffirming in their final declaration that that matter concerned only the Governments of Angola and Cuba.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“If the Yankee imperialists and partners of the Apartheid regime have been forced to talk about the independence of Namibia, it has been because of the armed struggle of the heroic sons of the people of Namibia, because of the actions headed by SWAPO and because they have failed in their attempts to prevent the independence of Angola. In 1976, the Governments of Angola and Cuba decided to begin withdrawing the Cuban military forces that were in Angola and the number of Cuban personnel was reduced by more than one third. New threats against Angola interrupted this process and even made necessary the return of new forces to replace those which had already left the noble Angolan soil. Other aggressions; by South Africa frustrated similar attempts another occasions.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“In fact, Washington is playing the game of Pretoria which seeks to rob the Namibian people of their victory and true independence. The racist regime of South Africa and its United States allies are insisting on linking Namibia's independence to the presence of the Cuban forces in Angola as an essential prerequisite for arriving at a negotiated solution. But they will not be able to hide the truth of the fact that Angola's independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty have made and are making an important contribution to Namibia's independence. The Cuban internationalist fighters went to Angola to help defend Angola's independence and prevent the spread of the apartheid regime beyond the borders of Namibia; for no other reason.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“This is also a good occasion for expressing a most energetic protest against the direct and indirect aggressions which United States imperialism has perpetrated against the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and other peoples in the north of Africa engaged in peacefully building their destinies. Concerning Namibia, the United States is ignoring Security Council resolution 435 (1978) as well as General Assembly resolution 36/172 B, proclaiming 1982 the International Year of Mobilization for Sanctions against South Africa, and is not using the means at its disposal to pressure South Africa into accepting a negotiated and law abiding solution based on the relevant resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Unfortunately, the war between the peoples of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iraq still continues. As chairman of the non aligned movement, Cuba has made tremendous efforts, together with other countries, to help find a peaceful, just and honorable solution to the conflict. We take this opportunity of addressing this important forum to reiterate our hopes and renew our offer of services to help bring the war to an end for the benefit of both peoples, of other peoples in the region and to prevent the spread and worsening of the conflict.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“The unbridled arms race that some countries are practicing a race which includes attempts to install 572 medium range missiles in Europe, the production of neutron bombs and the establishment of interventionist rapid deployment force constitutes a serious threat to international peace and security and to mankind's very survival. The arms buildup policy is closely linked to the imperialists' plans to impose their dictates in various parts of the world. Thus, on the one hand, imperialism is obstructing the negotiations on disarmament and, on the other, is encouraging and providing political and military support for the reactionary forces all over the world. Thus, besides the concerted aggression of Israel and the United States against Lebanon, other trouble spots are present in the explosive Middle East.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“In spite of the fact that negotiations have started on strategic weapons, on nuclear weapons in Europe and on the reduction of weapons and military personnel in Central Europe, the United States shows no willingness to negotiate and tries to hide its militaristic plans from the world public and impose them upon its Western European allies. The second special session of the General Assembly on disarmament, held midway through this year, was an example of the lack of political will of a group of States to negotiate seriously and constructively to find solutions for the problems of disarmament.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“All attempts to hide from the peoples the real consequences of a nuclear conflict and make them believe that such a conflict could be limited to a specific geographic area or instil in them the idea that it is feasible to start such a war with the possibility that some Power may emerge victorious, is exceedingly dangerous and incompatible with the vital interests of all mankind. Therefore, it is necessary to continue mobilizing public awareness of the dangers posed by nuclear war and weapons of mass destruction. The arms race has continued its upward spiral, and imperialism keeps on trying to impose policies from positions of strength.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“We greet the Secretary General, the first Latin American to occupy such a high post of responsibility, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, for his tenacious efforts aimed at strengthening and reinforcing the Organization. We are living in a world characterized by a sharpening of tension in international relations, due to the acts of provocation and the policies of arms buildup and nuclear blackmail advocated by United States imperialism. The danger of a nuclear war that would wipe out all the work of mankind grows constantly and hangs like an ominous cloud over man's right to live in peace.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“The time has come for the United Nations to act, and only exemplary, prompt and energetic punishment of those who committed the genocide and their accomplices will save the honor and respectability of our institution before the coming generations and the inexorable judgment of history. The Palestinian leaders and fighters have withdrawn honorably from Beirut, but only to continue the fight for the Palestinian people's inalienable rights until victory is won. Mr. President, we should like to say how pleased we are that you, Mr. Hollai, an outstanding son of the heroic Hungarian people, are presiding over this thirty seventh session of the General Assembly. We should also like to express our appreciation for the exemplary work done by the former President of the General Assembly, our friend Ismat Kittani.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“In the name of the non aligned movement, whose indignation I voice; in the name of the Cuban people, whose feelings of grief and staunch solidarity I represent, I join in the universal demand that the murderers and those who set the tragic scene for them and facilitated this abominable action be punished. It is indispensable that there be at least a political and moral exemplary sanction of all those guilty of the Beirut crime. For crimes against humanity such as this, for a murderous and racist philosophy such as that which motivated these deeds, the criminals at Nuremberg were seated in the dock and sent to the gallows.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“In his denunciation of this situation to the United Nations contained in a letter addressed to the Secretary General, Fidel Castro, President of the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba and Chairman of the non aligned movement, asked: How long can mankind and all decent and sensible Governments endure this brutal and merciless genocide? What new horrors will be necessary before the aggressors are stopped and their bloody hands stayed? Is not this proof that Israel's rulers are preparing to continue, in defiance of all, to eliminate the Palestinian people, annihilate the patriotic Lebanese resistance and extend their aggression to other Arab States?”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“In doing so they relied on the collaboration of Israel, which had responsibility and which set the scene for them and facilitated the carrying out of the slaughter. Hitler would have had much to learn from the madness of Messrs. Begin and Sharon. HO. The Zionist genocide in Beirut is the direct result of the United States Government's policy of force, violence and oppression. Nobody has failed to notice the direct connection and manifest complicity between the crimes committed in Lebanon and the continual United States vetoes in the Security Council, which have convinced the criminal Tel Aviv authorities that they are immune to any political or moral limitations that the United Nations should have placed upon them a long time ago.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“The non aligned countries call for the immediate holding of an international conference on Palestine, with the participation of the PLO and all States interested in finding a real, permanent solution to the situation in the Middle East, where the nub, the first step, must be recognition of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. By entering west Beirut, in a gesture of utter disregard for world public opinion and for Israel's pledges to respect the peace agreements, Israeli troops created the conditions for Haddad's murderous gangs to take cowardly advantage of the honorable withdrawal from Beirut of the heroic Palestinian leaders and fighters a withdrawal designed precisely for the purpose of avoiding the indiscriminate slaughter of civilians and fall like bloodthirsty savages on the defenseless Palestinian camps.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“At the meeting of the Co coordinating Bureau of the Non Aligned held in Nicosia, during the unforgettable moments of the defense of Beirut, the non aligned movement, that powerful, independent force grouping nearly 100 States, declared that it was necessary to recognize the Palestinian people's right to establish their own State and return to their homeland. The Twelfth Arab Summit Conference expressed itself in much the same terms, and it also insisted on the necessity of recognizing the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“As early as 1881 Jose Martel said The brilliant Arabs should at all costs return to Arabia, as though avenging their centuries old oriental drift. He was then referring to the rebellions against European colonial domination and movingly praising the spirit that the Arab peoples brought to their fight. Few struggles, however, have attained such heroic heights and mobilized all the people young and old, women and children as the one that we have just witnessed in the long days of the Palestinian people's struggle against the genocidal Zionist imperialist invasion of Lebanon.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“On 8 October 1967, exactly 13 years ago, revolutionaries and freedom fighters all over the world learned with both grief and indignation that Commander Ernesto Che Guevara, the heroic guerrilla, had been murdered in Bolivia. Today, from this rostrum, where he spoke as a representative of the Cuban revolution, we should pay him the only tribute he would accept, that of following faithfully his example and struggling to achieve true independence for our peoples and to repulse any attempt to rob us of the rights that we have already won. May he continue fighting wherever the children of our oppressed peoples are struggling for freedom and keep working wherever creative efforts are paving the way to development. The Arab peoples have waged a long struggle to win recognition of their right to govern in their own land.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“In concluding, may I quote from a statement made by the President of the Council of State of Cuba, Commander Fidel Castro, on 28 September: We are a country that believes in the need for peace among all peoples in the world We are a country that believes in the need to avert a world war, which would be a holocaust of mankind. We believe in the need to prevent an arms race and a return to the cold war. We are a country prepared to live according to the norms of international law and to respect all other States as our State and our people are respected.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“Proof of this failure lies in the fact that we are now enthusiastically preparing to receive at Havana in 1979 the Sixth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, a movement of which Cuba was a founder member, together with 24 other countries, in 1961 and which today has more than 80 full-fledged members. The weight and influence of this movement in international relations in our time cannot be overlooked. Faithful to the principles of anti-colonialism and anti-neo-colonialism mentioned in our statements, and actively participating in the programme for economic co-operation, our people appreciates the high honour accorded it as host to the heads of State or Government of more than half the countries of the world. 322.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“Cuba will choose its friends, will assist those who ask for help, will develop its own institutions in accordance with its own economic and social system and will be ready to defend its country; it will not recognize capricious interpretations of the limits of its sovereignty, nor of its external or internal affairs. 320. Furthermore, the aim of isolating Cuba politically has resulted in the most ridiculous failure. Today our country maintains normal diplomatic relations with more than 100 States, and thousands of Cubans, at the request of friendly countries, contribute to their development. 321.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“The Government of Cuba considers that it has £n obligation to the international community to continue to demonstrate its willingness to resolve pending questions, when the requirements of mutual respect have been fulfilled. As has been stated since the beginning of the Revolution by its greatest leaders, it is not our intention to live in an atmosphere of permanent hostility with the United States. On the contrary, geographical and historical conditions exist which should be conducive to the existence of normal State relations between both countries. 319. However, above and. beyond such considerations there must be respect for the historic victories achieved by our nation, which took to the battlefield in 1868-victories that we shall not renounce at any price.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“Nevertheless, despite everything that has passed, the blockade is still in effect and it is thus not possible to begin substantive negotiations on the claims and other matters pending between both parties. 317. Nor can we forget the continuance of the arbitrary occupation of a part of Cuban territory that cannot be separated from the rest and that we cannot renounce, that is, the so-called Guantanamo Naval Base. Nor can we forget that the blockade and the military aggression have inflicted grave losses of every kind on our people and have hampered our economic and social development. Such losses must be compensated for at the proper time. 318.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“The Government of the United States has suspended the espionage flights which illegally violated our air space; North American citizens are once again allowed to visit Cuba and we have satisfactorily negotiated an agreement regulating the limits of the economic maritime zone of Cuba, and the exclusive fishing zone of the United States. These steps have created the necessary basis for proceeding, on the motion of the United States Government and with our agreement, to open a section on United States affairs in the Swiss Embassy at Havana and one on Cuban affairs in the Czechoslovakian Embassy in Washington. 315. We believe that both parties have made gestures and taken steps which are lessening the tension that has existed for many years in the Caribbean. 316.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“We continued to believe that the existing situation could be the subject of future negotiations to the benefit of both and to the advantage of international relations as a whole. However, the prerequisite of any negotiation is and will continue to be the cessation of all acts of hostility or aggression against Cuba and complete equality and mutual respect. That is why we cannot expect such negotiations to take effect as long as the blockade, a unilateral act taken by the Government of the United States, continues in force. 314. During the past months, the development of relations between the United States and Cuba has apparently taken a turn in the direction of respect for the rule of international law regarding peaceful coexistence.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“That desire has been the constant guide of my Government. 311. Already in 1960, when Commander Fidel Castro spoke here in this Assembly,2 4 he referred to that position of ours and quoted several notes addressed by the Government of Cuba to the Government of the United States which prove that point. 312. Yet it was not negotiations that followed but acts of aggression-the economic blockade of Cuba, the promotion of subversion, a campaign for Cuban citizens to leave their country and move to the United States, and the infiltration of paid CIA agents, the mercenary aggression of Playa Giron, and attempts at direct aggression during the so-called crisis of October 1962. 313. Nevertheless, Cuba unswervingly maintained its position.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“It is not my intention here to give a long description of the economic, political and military aggression unleashed against the people of Cuba since it became master of its own destiny and acted accordingly. Suffice it to say that that aggression was initiated, as has been proved today by the investigations of the United States Senate itself, even before laws were enacted to restore to the Cuban nation its wealth, which remained in the hands of foreigners. 310. Since the first acts of hostility and aggression which we have suffered, the Government of Cuba has clearly expressed its desire to negotiate with regard to any differences which might exist with the Government of the United States and any claims, as long as the requirements of mutual respect and complete equality are observed.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“During all those years of pseudo-independence, the illustrious people of my country, honest patriots and militant revolutionaries, kept the flame lit on 10 October 1868 from being extinguished under neo-colonialist oppression. 307. The price paid as a result of foreign domination is high. Part of our territory, Guantanamo, was occupied by the United States in perpetuity under one of the treaties characteristic of the time; the economy of our island was totally distorted and it became a source of wealth for foreigners and of misery for Cubans. 308. On 1 January 1959 we achieved true independence and the exercise of sovereignty and we Cubans were able to conduct our foreign and domestic policy in accordance with our own interests, within the framework of respect for the rules of international law and peaceful coexistence. 309.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“The details of that long struggle have been recounted more than once and I shall therefore confine myself to saying that for 30 years the Mambi Army, which was the name of the army of our soldiers who fought for independence, confronted the powerful forces of the colonial mother country in an intermittent war which cost us almost half the population of the island of- Cuba. When the heroic struggle seemed to be on the brink of ending in victory for the Cubans, and when the colonial government confessed that it had not a cent more nor a soldier more to contribute to the war in Cuba, nascent North American imperialism intervened, and thus we were prevented from enjoying the fruits that were- ours by right, and Cuba became a neo-colonialist republic and remained so until 1959. 306.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“And we must encourage those developing countries which have considerable surplus finances to extend financial co-operation to those that have suffered appreciably from the effects of the crisis. That is a fundamental principle to be borne in mind in all areas of our co-operation. 304. On the other hand, we also have the task of making a decisive contribution so that the strategy for the third United Nations development decade can break free of the frustrating patterns which were characteristic of the first and second Decades and be realistically adjusted to the purposes and objectives of the new international economic order. 305. On 10 October next, 109 years will have elapsed since the Cuban nation began its struggle for emancipation.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)